Sky retains Premier League highlights packages

Sky Sports has been awarded a further tranche of Premier League rights, allowing it to screen a full 90-minute replay of the best Saturday 3pm match from 8pm that evening.

The three-year agreement gives the premium channel access to extended highlights to the 226 Premier League matches that are not shown live on television.

Following the 8pm screening Sky will show the remaining highlights on the Red Button. Goals and other key moments will also be available to Sky Sports News and magazine shows including Goals on Sunday and Soccer Saturday.

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: “This is fantastic news for Sky Sports viewers who will continue to enjoy unrivalled coverage of the Barclays Premier League on TV and wherever they are with Sky Go. We’ll give fans the first chance to see extended highlights of all the matches every Saturday, as well as the key moments throughout the week. Add these rights to our 116 live matches from next season, which include MNF and Super Sunday double-headers, and Sky Sports truly remains the home of the Barclays Premier League.”

News International has also secured a deal to show Premier League football highlights across the mobile and internet versions of The Sun, The Times and Sunday Times. Previously, two separate deals split the rights between Yahoo and ESPN. The Disney-owned network has already lost its single Premier League TV rights package from the start of the 2012/13 season.

BT Vision, which picked up two packages in the sale of live rights, is thought to be exploring an on demand package.